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Jim Hostler went from being the reported top candidate for the Ravens offensive coordinator vacancy to having a cloudy future.

There’s always a chance he could stay on as the wide receivers coach, but it appears he’s exploring other opportunities.

“Ravens wide receivers coach Jim Hostler is pondering his options after failing to land the offensive coordinator job,” reported The Baltimore Sun’s Aaron Wilson. “He remains on the staff for now, but his status could be changing.

“Hostler was the lone internal candidate for the offensive coordinator position and is now contemplating whether to remain with a team where it doesn't look as if he'll have an opportunity to advance in the immediate future.”

Harman will not be retained on the coaching staff next season and will be replaced by former Texans Tight Ends Coach Brian Pariani, according to Wilson.

Harman is the only coach who was part of both Ravens’ Super Bowl victories after being hired in 1999 by former Ravens Head Coach Brian Billick. During that time, he coached tight ends Shannon Sharpe, Todd Heap and Dennis Pitta.

Pariani is no slouch himself.

He coached the Texans tight ends for eight seasons, helping Owen Daniels become a two-time Pro Bowler. He also coach Sharpe in Denver.

“Pariani has a reputation as a fiery competitor and is known as a hard-nosed, no-nonsense coach,” Wilson wrote.

Potential Candidates For Three Spots

The Ravens currently have to fill two vacancies on the staff and one more if Hostler moves on.

“Flacco has a better tool set than all of those quarterbacks, and even the harshest critic would agree with that. It had to cross the Ravens' mind that, if Kubiak can work this magic with an average-at-best quarterback like Schaub, imagine how much of a positive influence he can have on Flacco.”

Flacco Athletic Enough For Bootleg?

One of the staples of Kubiak’s offenses in the past was the bootleg.

It requires a lot of athleticism from the quarterback, who has to make throws on the run. A couple analysts disagree on whether Flacco is athletic enough to run the bootleg consistently.

Bill Polian, former GM of the Colts and ESPN analyst, thinks that Flacco has the goods.

“The bootleg is a huge part of Gary Kubiak’s offense,” Polian says in the video below. “We played against it for 5 years in Indianapolis. It’s going to be interesting to see Joe Flacco operating that, and he is much more athletic than people think.”

Doug Gottlieb isn’t so sure …

Only Person On Internet Who Thinks Worse Off With Kubiak

Well, if you’re looking for a devil’s advocate point of view on the hire of Kubiak, here ya go …

CBSSports.com’s Doug Gottlieb not only thinks Flacco won’t succeed with the bootleg, but he thinks the offense will be worse next season under Kubiak.

“You need a really athletic quarterback because you’re running a lot of bootlegs, and that’s not really Joe Flacco,” Gottlieb said in this video. “It’s not that Joe Flacco isn’t a good athlete, he’s actually a really good athlete, but he’s not somebody you want to roll out, plant his feet and throw the ball. He’s a down-field thrower.

“This to me strikes me as a guy who is a really good offensive coordinator with a really good quarterback with a really bad fit for each other. I don’t see them getting better. I see them fighting over the play calling and the set up and the depth of the drops.”

Quick Hits

I wanted to write more about this, but ran out of time this morning (maybe I will follow up tomorrow), but this is an excellent interview with John McClain, who has covered the NFL for the Houston Chronicle for 34 years. He gives great insight into the personality of Kubiak, saying he has never respected a coach more. [WNST]

McClain also noted in the interview above that Kubiak had several coaching offers, but turned them down. Perhaps another reason Kubiak was a last-minute hire before he presented himself to the Ravens? [WNST]

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